Secretary of State focuses on “total recovery” from the benefits affair: 'It couldn't go on like this'

Interview

Secretary of State focuses on “total recovery” from the benefits affair: 'It couldn't go on like this'

NSC Secretary of State Nora Achahbar wants to accelerate the ongoing recovery operation for the benefits affair with a new set-up for “total recovery”. An “emergency advisory committee” must advise on implementation. 'I want to pull victims out of the legal swamp. '

Frank Hendrickx and Charlotte HuismanNovember 6, 2024, 12:30 PM

Nora Achahbar, staatssecretaris Toeslagen. — Nora Achahbar, Secretary of State for Benefits. Image by David van Dam/de Volkskrant

“Total recovery”, is what NSC Secretary of State Nora Achahbar (Allowances) calls her new set-up for dealing with the damage suffered by those affected by the benefits affair who are stuck in the current system. She wants to develop this approach in the coming months and will implement it early next year. An “emergency advisory committee” should investigate the best way of working for her.

The intention is that the damage suffered as a result of recoveries from the tax authorities and the current problems of a victim will be considered 'in total'. “The financial damage, but also any debts, and whether the parent might need help with mental problems or an education,” says the Secretary of State in her office at the Ministry of Finance. 'The parties involved jointly make one plan of action for this, instead of the victim having to go through all the counters with long queues. '

Former SP MP Renske Leijten's plan for claims settlement in one day served as inspiration, as did the rapid ZSM handling method (Carefully Fast and Tailored) in criminal law that Achahbar knows from her past as a prosecutor. On Thursday, the Secretary of State will discuss with the House of Representatives her plan for the protracted recovery operation, whose estimated costs now far exceed 10 billion euros.

Much still unclear

What the “total recovery” will look like is still unclear at crucial points. When asked who receives supervision and what evidence a victim must provide if, for example, he says he lost his job due to the benefits affair, Achahbar still owes the answer. But the NSC Secretary of State is convinced that the immense benefit recovery machine needs to be adjusted to points. “There is an urgent situation now, it can't go on like this.”

What did you notice about the recovery operation in your first months as Secretary of State?

“That this one is very fragmentary. The first test to determine whether someone has been duped was completed by almost all applicants; the almost 39 thousand recognized victims received 30 thousand euros. More than three quarters have completed the comprehensive assessment of the amount that the tax authorities have unfairly recovered. After that, victims can request compensation for additional damage or support from the municipality. '

Many victims are already talking about a recovery scandal. Are you shocked?

'I didn't get in completely blind. I saw the bottlenecks. There are 14 thousand complaints from victims; we have already paid 100 million euros in penalty payments. That's not doing it. The Actual Injury Commission (CWS), red.) who has been tasked with determining additional damage for victims for the past four years really needs to step up. At the current rate, we are still a hundred years before everything is completed. With the Equal Recovery Foundation (by Princess Laurentien), red.) that we had started last year because CWS was not running, we also need to take steps. '

Are you going to completely change things up? Aren't you afraid to set too high expectations with a term like total recovery?

“We're not just going to turn everything upside down. First, we will carefully consider what we are going to do. I want to pull victims out of the legal swamp and bring them to the table with everyone involved who can help them. '

How do you envision this?

“As a prosecutor, I found the ZSM method a great way to work. Parties such as Victim Support, Probation Service and the Police then sit down together to quickly clarify the outcome of the criminal case to the suspect and the victim. I imagine that existing organizations, such as the Commission for Actual Damage and the Equal Repair Foundation, will work together in this new set-up. '

The plan by former SP MP Leijten, which is supported by the House, has also inspired you. If this is dealt with in one day, a personal conversation between the victim and all the authorities involved should lead to generous compensation. You said earlier that you did not find this realistic.

“I don't think a day is feasible for many victims, but the idea is good. The Institute for Public Values is now conducting a trial with the group of relatives of benefit victims. Then it should be seen whether this method, which puts people first, works better than the current fragmented set-up, and how we can then shape it. '

Why did you set up an emergency advisory committee, led by Chris van Dam, chairman of the Safety Board and chair of the Parliamentary Childcare Allowance Interrogation Committee at the time? You spoke to everyone yourself, didn't you?

'I want to work carefully. It must be executable. The emergency advisory committee will review all the cars in the recovery process and see how — with what we already have — we can better organize the recovery. We hope that she will finish her advice before Christmas so that we can start early next year. '

The cooperation between your ministry and the Equal Recovery Foundation is difficult. That foundation insists on its independence, arguing that, as a 'perpetrator', the government cannot offer reparation in this affair. On the contrary, your plan seems to encourage closer cooperation, with less autonomy for this foundation. How do you see that?

“In the ZSM approach, the organizations work together, each with their own way of working. Everyone keeps doing their own thing, is my idea. We already see in Almere, for example, that it works well, that the story of the victims that the foundation records is used by the municipality to determine the support to offer. '

Your predecessor did not want to make major changes to the recovery operation in the meantime, arguing that you should not change the rules of the game during the match, and because of the possible legal inequality between victims. Why do you choose to change?

“Because I've seen that things need to be better. Without messing up too much, I want it to go faster. The main reason why I started doing this work is that I want to improve the well-being of the victims. '